The basilica of San Lorenzo in Lucina and the Lovatti Chapel in Rome Historical and artistic notes, with an updated list of illustrious people buried in the basilica
The basilica
stands on the site of the martyrdom of the saint, who died during Valerian's
persecutions in 258 AD. The area was once occupied by the northern Campus
Martius, a flat alluvial plain between the Tiber and the Pincian
Hill, where Emperor Augustus erected his Mausoleum in 29 BC
and the Ara Pacis Augustae in 9 BC, as a tribute to his dynastic glory
and the peace he had achieved. Hadrian, emperor between 119 and 138 AD,
also commissioned works here. A veritable neighborhood arose here, with an insula,
the remains of which can be seen today by visiting the underground section of
the current Basilica. This area is only open to visitors on the last Saturday of
the month. The basilica, built at the behest of Sixtus III [432-40], was
restored during the pontificate of Paschal II in 1281-87 and later in 1606, when
the church was entrusted to the Minor Clerics Regular.
Beneath the
church is an archaeological area that allows us to reconstruct its
construction phases and historical events. Next to the sacristy, a
corridor, known as the Laurentina, leads to the underground
chambers, uncovered by excavation work. The concrete traces visible
directly above the central nave and its meridian section are primarily a
room paved with black and white mosaics featuring geometric designs,
typical of the 2nd century AD. The perimeter wall of the apse rests on a
rectilinear wall from an earlier period, frescoed with plant motifs and
divided into broad bands. Excavations revealed that directly beneath the
Basilica was an insula, somewhat comparable to our modern apartment
buildings, built in the early third century. It cuts across the previous
structures with a network of cruciform pillars, spanning the entire
central section of the church, from the original threshold of the
fifth-century church to the crypt area beneath the apse, encompassing both
the floor and the frescoed wall. It is precisely the threshold of the
primitive church that gives the impression of the sacred building being
superimposed on what would evidently have been a normal civil, residential,
and commercial building. One of these
residences was owned by a certain Lucina, who had provided
hospitality to the early Christian communities for their meetings. It was
there that the Conclave that elected Pope Damasus took place on
October 1, 366, with none other than St. Jerome, a Church Father,
as his secretary. A few days earlier, on September 24, 366, a group of
priests, including the deacons Ursinus, Amantius, and Lupus, had gathered
in the Basilica of Pope Julius in Trastevere (S. Maria in Trastevere)
and proclaimed Ursinus bishop of Rome. Ursinus's followers were
subsequently brought back into obedience to the legitimate Pontiff.
Damasus was canonized, and the feast of Saint Damasus is December 11. A very important find was also unearthed: a baptistery located on the same level as the first basilica, beneath the Hall of the Canons (now the Parish Museum). It consisted of a font with an adjoining basin, the function of which is unclear (baptism of infants or a water reservoir). It dates back to the 5th century. AD and was demolished between 1441 and 1451 to build the Chapel of St. John the Baptist, now the Hall of the Canons. |
Pope Benedict II, from 684-685, undertook restoration work and donated vestments to the Church of San Lorenzo "qui appellatur lucinae" (that is, "who is called Lucina"), indicating that this reputation was already well known. Over the centuries, numerous interventions on the building and donations from the popes followed. Historical documents also record two floods of the church, due to the overflowing of the Tiber in the mid-9th century. In the portico in front of the church, a plaque indicates the level reached by the flood. In 1084, the church was sacked by the Normans led by Robert Guiscard, following which extensive renovations were carried out in the following century. In 1103, Antipope Anacletus II dedicated the church on May 25th and placed the relics of Alexander and other martyrs in the high altar. In 1112, Pope Paschal II placed numerous relics from the church: the gridiron, which came from an old altar in the church, was moved to the high altar; the relics of Saint Pontian and his companions, martyrs of Acquatraversa; and many others. On the Papal throne, which is now hidden by a door in the choir behind the high altar, there is an inscription by Antipope Anacletus II, which states that Pope Paschal II had the gridiron removed from an old altar, along with two vials of blood, and that Bishop Leo of Ostia had everything replaced under this new altar, and this is the most important testimony to the medieval restructuring of the Church. When it was handed over to the Order of the Clerics Regular Minor of San Francesco Caracciolo in 1606, the basilica underwent a transformation from an early Christian basilica into a Baroque one: the walls and roof of the central nave were raised; the side chapels were gradually built and were all completed by 1779. Shortly thereafter, around the mid-17th century, the interior was completely transformed by Cosimo Fanzago, who transformed the church into a single-nave hall and reduced the side aisles to family chapels (notable is the "Chapel of San Giuseppe," granted "in perpetuity" to the Ottoboni family, Dukes of Fiano, and destroyed in 1943 by Cardinal Carlo Cremonesi to make it his tomb). A further restoration in the 19th century eliminated the Baroque decorations, leaving only the pulpit intact. In 1800, again due to persistent dampness, a further restoration was undertaken, during which the ceiling was completely redone and two new chapels were built on either side of the presbytery. After 1870, with the unification of Italy, the church passed to the Fund for Worship, and since 1906 it has been managed by the secular clergy of the diocese of Rome. Between 1918 and 1919, Cardinal Gasparri oversaw yet another restoration of all the surfaces, while in 1927 the Superintendency of Monuments restored the portico to its original appearance. Given the persistent dampness problem, excavations and restorations of the basement were carried out by the Archaeological Superintendency of Rome between 1982 and 1987, resulting in "improved air circulation and a significant benefit for the entire building." On July 18, 1910, the funeral of the father of Msgr. Domenico Tardini, who would become a cardinal in 1958 and Pope John XXIII's Secretary of State, was held. Tardini recalled it in his diary: "The Church of San Lorenzo in Lucina was quite crowded: the vast majority were seminarians and friends of mine. The music was performed by the best singers in Rome: I had called them, I had planned the program. The funeral procession was performed by a number of Capuchins, and with some solemnity..." On March 18, 1928, the episcopal consecration of Msgr. Pietro Ciriaci was celebrated in the church. He would become a cardinal in 1953 and titular bishop of San Lorenzo in Lucina from 1964 until his death. Msgr. Ciriaci was consecrated bishop by Cardinal Pietro Gasparri, Vatican Secretary of State, with Msgr. Carlo Cremonesi and Msgr. Augustine Zampini.
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The
entrance to the church today consists of a portico with six granite
columns with capitals and bases, surmounted by an architrave made from a
massive, reused ancient fluted column. The crowning element, with a
triangular pediment and moldings, is higher because it corresponds to the
raising of the walls of the central nave carried out in 1643. Various
inscriptions and reliefs discovered several times in the excavation area
between 1927 and 1928 have been placed in this entrance portico. - Marian Itinerary. There are so many references to the Virgin in this Basilica that it is impossible to describe them all. The vault features scenes from the life of Mary, attributed to Simon Vouet (1590-1649), depicting her Birth (an episode not described in the Canonical Gospels, but only in the Apocrypha), the Annunciation, the Presentation in the Temple, and the Assumption. There is an Annunciation by Ludovico Gimignani, a pupil of Reni, a copy painted in 1664 from the original by Guido Reni, preserved in the chapel of the same name on the Quirinale. The most prominent image is undoubtedly the one in the Chapel of the Immaculate Conception (the front right chapel), which dates back to the 19th century and is believed to have been painted on the occasion of the proclamation of the dogma of the Immaculate Conception by Pope Pius IX. The artist was inspired by the vision described in Revelation 12,1: "A great sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet." In the fourth chapel on the right side, that of the Annunciation, there are sculptures made by Gian Lorenzo Bernini commissioned by Gabriele Fonseca, an illustrious doctor who at the time owned the chapel itself. A curious painting of the Virgin can be seen above the chapel of Saint Francis of Assisi and Saint Giacinta Marescotti, entitled Madonna delle Grazie, attributed to Girolamo Siciolante da Sermoneta (1521 1575), executed with a rather rare technique, oil on slate. On the Virgin's head shines a crown of stars, we notice the sweet and smiling face of Mary who has her arms raised and her three fingers spread, a curious iconography. -
Laurentine Itinerary, that is, relating to San Lorenzo (Saint Lawrence the
Martyr), the titular saint of the Church. Saint Lawrence was the first
of the seven deacons of Rome, who, according to tradition, was martyred
during the persecution of Emperor Valerian, who in 258 AD
had ordered the killing of Christian bishops, priests, and deacons, along
with the confiscation of their property. In this persecution Pope Sixtus
II was also beheaded. Saint Lawrence was martyred on
August 10, and Church Fathers such as Saint Augustine, Saint Ambrose, and
Saint Prudentius have recorded that he suffered torture on the gridiron.
Tradition holds that this instrument is present in the Basilica: the urn
containing the relic of the gridiron is visible under the altar of the Lovatti
Chapel, while the reliquary with the chains of Saint Lawrence is kept
in the Parish Museum.
The Crucifixion by Guido Reni, altarpiece of the main altar
The high
altar is the work of Carlo Rainaldi. Behind it is the famous
crucifix by Guido Reni, while the choir is decorated with the Virgin
and Saints by Placido Costanzi (1702-1759). The altarpiece by
Guido Reni (1575-1642) was painted between 1637 and 1638 and donated by
the Marchioness Cristina Duglioli Angelelli of Bologna, who died in
1669, as stipulated in her will. The coffered ceiling of the nave has a
painting at its centre depicting the Ascension of Jesus with Saint
Lawrence, Saint Damasus, Saint Lucina and Saint Francis Caracciolo by Roberto
Bompiani (1821-1908). On the walls, the cycle of paintings with
episodes from the life of Saint Lawrence dates back to 1860 and is also
the work of Bompiani. The chapels on the right side of the church 1) The first chapel from the entrance is dedicated to San Lorenzo and has been owned by the Lovatti family since the mid-19th century (see the description in the relevant paragraph below). 2) The second chapel, designed by Carlo Rainaldi, is dedicated to Saint Anthony and contains paintings by the Flemish painter Jan Miel (1599-1663) on the life of the Saint to the right and left of the altar. Between the second and third chapels is the monument to Nicolas Poussin, created between 1829 and 1830 by Paul Lemoyne and Louis Desprez at the request of the writer Francoise René de Chateaubriand. 3) The third chapel is dedicated to Saint Francesco Caracciolo (1563-1608), founder of the Order of Minor Clerics Regular, to whom the basilica was entrusted from 1606 to 1873. The altarpiece, Saint Francis Caracciolo Adoring the Blessed Sacrament, was painted in 1752 by Ludovico Stern (1709-1777). 4)
The fourth chapel, dedicated to the Annunciation, known as the Fonseca
Chapel after the family who commissioned it, was designed by Gian
Lorenzo Bernini (1598-1680), who also sculpted, between 1668 and 1674,
the bust of the Marquis Gabriele Fonseca, who was also the
physician to Pope Innocent X. The altarpiece is the Annunciation
by Ludovico Gimignani (1643-1697), a copy of the fresco by Guido
Reni created in 1610 in the Quirinale Palace. The bust of Isabella
Cardoso Gomez, wife of Gabriele Fonseca (c. 1586-1668), was
commissioned by her daughter Antonia Fonseca Arboli from the sculptor Giulio
Cartari (1642-1699), a disciple and faithful collaborator of Gian
Lorenzo Bernini. On the dome of the chapel the stucco angels were created
between 1662 and 1670 by the Bernini School. The chapels on the left side of the church 1) The first is the baptistery, a work from around 1715 by the architect Giuseppe Sardi (1688-1770). The central painting of the baptistery, depicting the Baptism of Christ, is by Giuseppe Nasini (1657-1736). 2) The second chapel, dedicated to Saint Carlo Borromeo. The altarpiece Saint Charles carrying the nail from the cross in procession (1618) is by Carlo Saraceni (1585-1625), a distinguished and greatest disciple of Caravaggio (he is the author of the famous Transit of the Virgin of 1610, in the church of Santa Maria della Scala in Trastevere, which replaced The Death of the Virgin by Caravaggio, rejected by the Carmelites, now in the Louvre in Paris). The paintings on the side walls (on the right Saint Charles giving communion to the plague-stricken and on the left Saint Charles distributing alms to the poor) are by Gregorio Preti (1603-1672). 3) The third chapel is dedicated to Saint Giovanni of Nepomuk, a canon of Prague Cathedral, who was drowned in 1393 (for his refusal to reveal what he had told the queen in confession) by the King of Bohemia, Wenceslaus of Luxembourg (1361-1419). Saint Giovanni was proclaimed a saint by Pope Benedict XIII in 1729. On the high altar is a marble statue of the Saint, a work by Gaetano Altobelli from 1737. On the left wall is Saint John as a prisoner before the King of Bohemia, and on the right wall is Saint John led to martyrdom on the Vltava River, near Charles Bridge. Between the third and fourth chapels is the marble pulpit made in 1649-50 by Cosimo Fanzago (1591-1678). 4) The fourth chapel is dedicated to Saint Joseph. The altarpiece is by Alessandro Turchi (1578-1649) and depicts the Holy Family, while on the left wall is the tomb with the marble bust of Cardinal Carlo Cremonesi (1866-1943), titular of the basilica from December 19, 1935, until his death. This chapel was the private chapel of the Ottoboni princes, Dukes of Fiano (Pope Alexander VIII's family), who received it, by papal brief, in "perpetual concession" (their coat of arms is still visible above the entrance). In 1943, the chapel was altered from its original purpose to become the tomb of Cardinal Cremonesi and was clad in green marble, which covered the tombstones of the deceased Ottoboni family. 5) The fifth chapel is dedicated to Saint Francis of Assisi and Saint Giacinta Marescotti (1585-1640). The altarpiece, the Death of Saint Giacinta Marescotti (1736) is by Marco Benefial (1684-1764); on the left wall The Temptation of Saint Francis, and on the right The Dressing of Saint Francis, both by Simon Vouet (1590-1649) painted around 1636, like the frescoes on the vault (Saint Peter, Saint Paul, Saint Mary Magdalene, Saint Clare of Assisi, Saint Lucy). Above, on the cymatium, the Madonna in Glory by Bernardino Luini (1480-1532). Vouet's two paintings dedicated to Saint Francis had a profound influence on Roman painting of the seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries; For over a century these two paintings, together with Reni's Crucifixion, constituted the basilica's major artistic attraction. Marco
Benefial, Morte
di santa Giacinta Marescotti (1736) The front chapels The left chapel is dedicated to the Immaculate Heart of Mary, also called the Chapel of the Immaculate Conception, the right one is called the Chapel of the Crucifix. Lovatti Chapel The first chapel on the right was granted to the Lovatti family under the pontificate of Pius IX in the mid-19th century. In the 17th century, it had been placed under the protection of the Monatana family. The chapel's original 17th-century decoration, by Tommaso Salini (1575-1625), Giovanni Baglione (1573-1643), and Giovanni Battista Speranza (1600-1640), unfortunately has not survived. The chapel contains the tombs of Clemente (1779-1860), Matteo (1769-1849), and Edmondo (1845-1855) Lovatti, as well as that of Cardinal Pietro Ciriaci. The altarpiece in the Lovatti chapel, painted in 1716 by Sigismondo Rosa (a pupil of Carlo Maratta and Tommaso Chiari), depicts Lucina presenting the church plan to San Lorenzo. Under the altar table is an 18th-century urn containing the remains of the gridiron on which, according to tradition, Lorenzo was martyred. On the left wall of the chapel, a 19th-century painting by Giuseppe Creti depicts Saint Lawrence presenting the poor to Dacianus, Prefect of Rome in 258, explicitly referencing the tradition according to which Dacianus granted Lorenzo three days: if he handed over the treasures of the Roman church, his life would be spared. On August 10, Lorenzo presented himself to the Prefect, followed by a procession of poor people, and said: "Behold, these are our treasures: they are eternal treasures; they never fail, indeed, they increase." On the right wall, the martyrdom of Saint Lawrence is depicted in a painting, also by Giuseppe Creti. The commission to create Matteo Lovatti's funerary monument was given to the sculptor Giuseppe Guidi (probably a relative of his wife), who created a neo-Renaissance style monument with a crown of acanthus scrolls, with the bust of the deceased in the center and a laurel wreath with symbols of the arts and letters at the bottom. Pietro
Ciriaci (1885-1966), titular cardinal priest of the church
from 1964 to 1966, became cardinal in 1953. He graduated in philosophy,
theology, and law, was ordained a priest in 1909, and a bishop in 1928. He
taught philosophy at the College of Propaganda Fide and at Sant'Apollinare,
and later served as nuncio to Czechoslovakia and Portugal. On March 20,
1954, he was appointed Prefect of the Sacred Congregation of the Council.
He participated in the conclaves of 1958 and 1963 and in the Second
Vatican Council, during which he was president of the Commission on Clergy
discipline and drafter of the conciliar decree Presbyterorum Ordinis.
Before the Council, on June 5, 1960, he was appointed by Pope John
XXIII as president of the Preparatory Commission for the Discipline of
the Clergy and the Christian People, which had jurisdiction over the
distribution of the clergy, the question of the irremovability of parish
priests, the sanctity of priestly life, ecclesiastical precepts, the
instruction of the faithful and catechism, ecclesiastical benefices, the
historical and artistic heritage of churches, confraternities, social
security for the clergy, donations, and the ordination of converted
ministers. Monsignor Domenico Tardini recalls him in his diary when
he was nuncio in Lisbon. On September 13, 1934, he wrote: "An
inexhaustible and brilliant reasoner, he builds a whole phantasmagoria of
castles, which are harmonious, attractive, plausible... but they are
castles in the air. Ciriaci does not realize this: he steadfastly pursues
the practical application of what his reasoning has so brilliantly
suggested to him, and thus makes the wrong assessments, reverses
situations, discovers nonexistent friendships or enmities, worries,
anguishes, and becomes agitated. And since his temperament and the
terrible nostalgia from which he suffers, however much he tries to hide it,
lead him toward pessimism, he is never calm, never at peace, but always on
a war footing, always restless, always anxious, like someone who sees
plots and snares almost everywhere. So put together intelligence, vivacity,
stubbornness, nostalgia, pessimism, restlessness, and you get a Ciriaci
who must undoubtedly lack balance in the reality of life. [...] Ciriaci,
as always, was cordial, warm, and effusive towards me." Giuseppe Creti, Saint Lawrence presents the poor to Dacianus
Giuseppe Creti, Martyrdom of Saint Lawrence
Sigismondo Rosa, Lucina shows Saint Lawrence the plan of the church
Urn containing the remains of the gridiron, under the altar table of the Lovatti Chapel
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People buried in the basilica: Inside
the basilica are several very interesting funerary monuments from various
periods, including, on the pillar between the second and third chapels on
the right, the monument to Nicolas Poussin (1594–1665). It is
unknown why the French painter was buried in this church. Another
interesting fact is that a tombstone was erected over his tomb between
1823 and 1830, commissioned by René de Chateaubriand (1768–1848),
a French writer, when he was French minister in Rome. The
marble structure is by the architect Louis Vaudoyer and consists of
a sort of very simple white ‘edicule’, in which the central
bust of Poussin is within a small arch and rests on a base, beneath which
a marble slab of a different colour (ivory) has been inserted with a
dedication from Chateaubriand to Poussin and a relief reproducing the
painter's 1640 painting, Les bergers d'Arcadie, (The Shepherds of
Arcadia).
The
inscription “ET IN ARCADIA EGO” is clearly legible. The relief
reproduces, as has been said, a painting by Poussin, an artist active in
Rome from 1624 to 1640 and from 1642 until 1665 (the date of his death).
It depicts three shepherds and a shepherdess intent on reading the
inscription on an ancient tomb, which says, precisely, “Et in Arcadia
ego” against the backdrop of a dark mountain. Poussin’s painting,
created between 1637 and 1639, is now preserved in the Louvre Museum in
Paris. In the 1970s, a curious coincidence was discovered: the tomb,
identical in size and shape and even in its landscape setting, actually
exists in the French village of Arques, in the Aude Department. One
of the hills that can be seen in the distance is that of Rennes le
Chateau, linked to the well-known mysteries involving Abbot
Sauniere.
Poussin was certainly influenced by a
painting by Giovan Francesco Barbieri, known as Guercino,
who painted a similar scene between 1618 and 1622; today the painting is
housed in the gallery of Palazzo Barberini in Rome. It seems that Nicola Poussin was a member of
the Accademia Arcadia, a sort of esoteric circle, so what did he and
Guercino want to tell us with these paintings? And why did the writer Renè
de Chateaubriand feel - two centuries after Poussin's death - the need
to place a dedicatory plaque choosing that very theme among the many
paintings the artist created? "Trattieni
le pie lacrime, vive in (questa) tomba Poussin che
sembrava non dovesse morir mai. Eppure
egli ora tace; ma se vuoi sentirlo parlare nei
suoi quadri egli è vivo e (da essi) parla" We
know that Chateaubriand served at the court of Napoleon, a notoriously
pro-Masonic figure who came to Rome first as a diplomat in the service of
Cardinal Fesch, Napoleon's ambassador to Rome, and then himself as
ambassador of Restoration France. He frequented the pontiffs Pius VII,
Pius VIII, and Leo XII; among artists, he celebrated the memory of
Poussin and admired the masterpieces of Canova, as well as meeting two
then-novice painters, Ingres and Corot. This connection
between Poussin and Chateaubriand may simply be an act of admiration for
the seventeenth-century painter, whom René would have liked to
commemorate by placing a dedicatory plaque on his tomb, but further
research may reveal new and interesting elements.
Memories of early bereavements
(The information on San Lorenzo was taken from various websites and from Maria Elena Bertoldi's booklet, and summarized. Except for the information on the Lovatti Chapel, it is not based on specific research)
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Fiano Palace Fiano Palace (San Lorenzo in Lucina Square, n. 2-5, corner of Via del Corso, n. 405-418) was the residence of the cardinals who held the titular office of the basilica from the end of the 13th century to 1624 Fiano
Palace takes its name from Marco Ottoboni (Venice 1656 - Rome
1725), nephew of Pope Alexander VIII, who was appointed Duke of
Fiano Romano by the Pope on April 18, 1690. The duke purchased the
palace from the Ludovisi Family. In 1624, by order of Pope Urban VIII, the palace was sold for 36,000 scudi to Michele Peretti, Prince of Venafro (1577-1631), brother of Cardinal Alessandro. The Peretti Family carried out several renovations and partial expansions of the palace, including the reconstruction of the wing on Via Lucina and its façade. During these works, various artifacts dating back to the Augustan era were discovered (one is currently in the Louvre, another in the Vatican Museums); only in 1879 did the German archaeologist Friedrich von Duhn (1851-1939) establish that they belonged to the famous Ara Pacis built by the Emperor Octavian Augustus. Between 1903 and 1905, further excavations were carried out, allowing the recovery of other parts of the Ara Pacis. Abbot Paolo Savelli Peretti sold the building to Costanza Ludovisi Pamphilj, wife of Nicolò Ludovisi, Prince of Piombino, in the second half of the seventeenth century. On April 4, 1723, Duke Marco Ottoboni purchased the Chapel of San Giuseppe in the adjacent Basilica of San Lorenzo in Lucina for himself and his descendants. In 1731, Maria Francesca Ottoboni (1715-1758), the Duke's eldest daughter, married Prince Pietro Gregorio Boncompagni Ludovisi (1709-1747), who obtained the Ottoboni name, coat of arms, and titles by papal trustee, including the title of Duke of Fiano, which was transferable to his heirs. The palace's current facades were designed in 1888 by architect Francesco Settimj on behalf of Duke Marco Boncompagni Ludovisi Ottoboni. In 1898, the palace was sold to Edoardo Almagià. In the 19th century, the palace housed the Fiano Theater, with entrance at Via del Corso 418, which hosted puppet shows. The theatre is also mentioned by Stendhal who entered it in 1817 to attend a puppet show (Stendhal, Rome Naples Florence, Italian tr., Melita, La Spezia 1982).
The Basilica of San Lorenzo in Lucina - Wikipedia La Basilica di San Lorenzo in lucina e la cappella Lovatti (in Italian) tombs of Lovatti Family in San Lorenzo in Lucina (in Italian) |